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AFP
One of the last African elephant sanctuaries has "a major problem of elephant poaching", according to the final results of an aerial survey on wildlife conducted in Botswana by the BBC.
Elephants Without Borders, who conducted the quadrennial survey with the government, said the number of "fresh" or "recent" elephant carcbades in northern Botswana had increased six-fold, despite obvious signs of "poaching.
Mike Chase, the scientist who led the investigation, sparked a heated debate in the country when he released his study in August of last year, accusing the 39; existence of a poaching problem and alleging that the authorities ignored it.
Carcbades were found that showed signs that poachers were responsible
He told the BBC at the time that, while flying over northern Botswana, he had discovered 87 elephants recently killed in one area – a number now revised to 88 – and 128 in total.
The government called the figures "false and misleading" and criticized "unfounded and sensational media information".
He has received death threats and one of his two research permits has since been suspended by the government.
Hot spots for poaching
President Mokgweetsi Masisi, at the time, called the allegations "the biggest hoax of the 21st century" and denied the existence of an outbreak of poaching in the country.
But the final report identifies four hotspots for poaching, provides photographic evidence from field surveys and has been peer reviewed by nine international elephant experts.
"The response from … various people has been to try to deny or whitewash – to call me a traitor and a liar – without really checking the evidence we've seen," Chase said.
Mike Chase said he has seen a six-fold increase in the number of "fresh" carcbades in northern Botswana.
The government did not respond to the BBC interview request regarding the final report, but issued a statement criticizing the methods used to conduct the investigation.
The statement of Thato Raphaka, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism, stated that it was "unfortunate" that the report shows an "astonishing number of photos of 39, dead elephants ".
He criticized some of the scientific details contained in the report and asked that the raw data be submitted to the elephant expert group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature for further independent review.
Otisitwe Tiroyamodimo, director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, said the government had acknowledged the existence of a poaching problem.
"No one can deny that elephants are being killed in Botswana," but those reported by Mr. Chase are mostly dead "from natural causes and reprisal killings."
"We went and we could not find the 87 carcbades," Tiroyamodimo said.
Missing defenses
The authorities flew with Mr. Chase but admitted to spending only two days checking the carcbades observed for two months.
The research team provided the BBC with contact information for one of four areas identified as a "poaching hotspot", and we visited the sites of 67 elephant carcbades.
Some had apparently died of natural causes, but most had the characteristics badociated with poaching: tusks had disappeared and branches had been used to cover the bodies to prevent them from being found.
But Botswana is home to 130,000 elephants – a third of the total in Africa – and is an obvious target for poachers.
Even by extrapolating poaching figures from the sample found in the survey, the number of people killed will not have a major impact on such a large population.
"If we are talking about a number of carcbades that have accumulated over a period of two years, given the elephant population in Botswana, that does not really make a fuss," said the director of national parks , Mr Tiroyamodimo.
This was not satisfactory for Mr. Chase.
"When do we say we have a problem?" He asked.
"Is it at 10, 50, 100, 150, 1,000? The lessons have taught us – when we look at Tanzania, which has lost 60% of its elephant population in five years – poaching can quickly take place. To settle in a population. "
But the storm caused by the poaching peak seems to have more to do with Botswana's new bitter and complicated policy than its wildlife.
Political quarrel
President Masisi was vice-president until April 2018, when President Ian Khama of that time handed power to his deputy.
Since then, both men have fallen.
The new president has his own vision on a number of issues, including conservation, and has reversed some of the previous policies.
Hunting was banned under President Khama and Botswana was known for its zero tolerance approach to poachers.
In 2015 alone, 30 Namibians, 22 Zimbabweans and an undetermined number of Zambians were reportedly shot for being suspected of poaching.
Humans against elephants
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Elephants can be very destructive when they encroach on farmland and move through villages, destroying crops and sometimes killing people. Many rural communities believe that the number of elephants is increasing, even though scientific surveys do not prove it.
But their "reach" – the distance traveled by elephants – is expanding for a variety of reasons, increasing conflicts between wildlife and humans. Many people believe that the situation has worsened since the ban on hunting in 2013 and wish to reintroduce it.
The government must balance the lifting of the ban on hunting to win votes against the impact that this could have on Botswana's international reputation as a luxury safari destination.
President Masisi removed the "weapons of war" from the small anti-poaching unit of national parks, claiming that they were illegal for non-military officers.
A consultation that he has begun has just recommended lifting the ban on hunting, slaughtering elephants and canning their meat for pet food.
Thirteen rhinos have also been killed by poachers in the past year.
Botswana also supports regional efforts to lift the ban on ivory trade.
The two men are grappling with a political quarrel before the party congress that will choose a new leader. National elections will be held later in the year.
Since Mr. Chase has close relations with the former president, the timing of his allegations was seen by some as a political attack on the new president – even though the final report indicates that poaching took place before the entry into office of Mr. Masisi.
Botswana attracts high-end tourists from around the world because of its international reputation for successful conservation.
But with the persistent political storm – and a reliance on government authorizations to organize high-end safaris – few of the major safari operators could comment on the extent of the problem of poaching.
"Do not shoot the messenger"
Thirteen rhinos have been killed by poachers in the past 12 months – an unprecedented number.
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David Kays, owner of Ngamiland Adventure Safaris in the Okavango Delta, said it was time to admit that there was a problem of poaching and working together to solve it .
"I think the government has been hiding it for a while and now that it has been unveiled, we now realize how serious the problem is and these big poachers have infiltrated further than expected."
Kim Nixon of Wilderness Safaris says that all cases of poaching are reported
Wilderness Safaris operates luxury lodges in one of the concessions where some of the 88 carcbades were found.
Managing Director Kim Nixon rejected any suggestion that the problem would be denied.
"Whenever poaching took place in one of our concessions, every incident was reported as a criminal case," he said.
"We are in no way mandated or authorized to fight poaching, our role, at best, is surveillance."
"Do not shoot at the messenger," Chase added, adding, "I think all stakeholders need to work together – government, private sector, public sector, NGO."
Botswana is still the safest place in the world to be a rhinoceros or an elephant, but with continued demand for ivory in Asia, it is now firmly in the line of sight of poachers.
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